SYDNEY, 27 January 2012 – A UNICEF report on emergency response for 2012 says less countries are in need of humanitarian assistance than a year ago, but that certain disaster hotspots continue to affect millions around the world.
UNICEF’s
Humanitarian Action for Children report requests $1.28 billion to assist its humanitarian operations in 25 countries 2012, showing progress made in helping communities from 30 countries last year.
The list of countries includes both ongoing emergencies and conflicts and regions that intensified in 2011.”Unfortunately we’re seeing a definite geographical trend in the areas where the need is greatest for emergency response. The crisis in Somalia and in other countries in the Horn of Africa accounts for nearly one-third of the total amount,” said CEO of UNICEF Australia, Dr Norman Gillespie.
“There is the ongoing food crisis in the Horn of Africa; the Sahel is facing a nutrition crisis of immense magnitude. In addition, new political situations, new governments and new countries which have in some cases brought about political unrest and an enormous impact on the stability and wellbeing of their people.”
The report notes the needs of children and their families displaced by violence stemming from the November 2010 elections in Cote d’Ivoire and the independence of South Sudan from the Republic of the Sudan; the report cites the wave of political turmoil and change in the Middle East and North Africa as creating humanitarian needs in the region especially in countries such as Yemen which is already affected by a long standing emergency crisis.
“The Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad and the Central African Republic, to name just a few, are all emergencies requiring funding if their most vulnerable people, children and women, are to survive,” he added.
“In addition, there is the five million people affected by a second year of flooding in Pakistan and the operation to rebuild Haiti two years after an earthquake shattered the poorest country in the western hemisphere.”
“While much of the world’s attention focuses on the humanitarian needs in the Horn of Africa, we must not forget those in the many long-standing emergencies around the globe, what we term silent emergencies,” said Dr Gillespie.
Humanitarian Action for Children describes the daily situation of some of the world’s most vulnerable children and women caught up in emergencies across the world and the funding required to meet their immediate and long-term needs, their right to healthy survival and development.
On long-term emergencies, the UNICEF reports says: “Throughout the world, millions of children are living amidst crises that persist for years. While some of these emergencies attract significant media and political attention, others never reach international awareness, and many become ‘silent emergencies’ in which deep humanitarian need, existing far from the public eye, is too easily and quickly overlooked.”
The report stresses the importance of emergency preparedness and building resilience as critical in reducing death and injury in emergency situations.
The conflict in the East and Northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to have a profound impact on millions of people over many years, according to the report.
As of June 2011, more than 1.5 million people, half of them children, were displaced by ethnic violence. Millions of children in conflict-affected areas were out of school, and attacks involving mass sexual violence were common in some provinces, and measles and cholera epidemics threatened the lives of many millions of children.
In Haiti, UNICEF and its partners continue to assist survivors of the 2010 quake and take steps to increase the resilience of the most vulnerable Haitians. In 2011, UNICEF helped reunite 2,500 separated children with their families and established 193 temporary schools to serve nearly 86,000 children.
“We have achieved many positive results in emergency settings in 2011 but the urgent and long term needs of millions of children and their families will continue in 2012. UNICEF requires adequate funding in order to fulfill its commitments towards children,” Dr Gillespie said. “They not only represent the future but are the most vulnerable, and deserve generous and consistent support from the donor community.”
Read the Humanitarian Action for Children 2012 report.
About UNICEF
UNICEF works in over 190 countries to promote and protect the rights of children. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, clean water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and HIV. In Australia, UNICEF advocates for the rights of all children to be realised and works to improve public and government support for child rights and international development. UNICEF receives no funding from the UN, but relies on the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.
For more information, please contact:
Tim O’Connor, UNICEF Australia
0435 206 273
toconnor@unicef.org.au
Martha Tattersall, UNICEF Australia
0421 570 393
mtattersall@unicef.org.au
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